Is Gen Z Really So Different?

“Coming of age in the 1990s, the state of the world seemed every bit as dire to me as it does to many ‘Zoomers.'”

We often hear about Gen Z being oh-so different from previous generations of young people. But, barring differences in attitude, behavior, and mental health linked to social media, folks born after 1997 share more in common with their predecessors than we may think.

Coming of age in the 1990s, the state of the world seemed every bit as dire to me as it does to many “Zoomers.” The news abounded with humanitarian and environmental disasters, and, much like today, doomsayers ignored the enormous human progress that had already been achieved. “On what principle is it,” wondered 19th century historian Thomas Babington Macaulay, “that with nothing but improvement behind us, we are to expect nothing but deterioration before us?”

The popular culture of the time reflected this bleak outlook. Singing about anxiety, depression, and suicide, Nirvana, arguably the most influential rock band of the 1990s, quickly gained a huge global following. Although Nirvana’s success was unprecedented, the group’s lyrical subject matter was not. Groups like Joy Division, The Smiths, and a slew of underground punk bands had addressed similar issues in the 1970s and 1980s.

Today, it is Gen Z megastar Billie Eilish whose dark, melancholy songs resonate with millions of adolescent fans. “I feel the dark things,” says Eilish. “I feel them very strongly. Why would I not talk about them?”